Foldable Smartphone Displays are Plastic, but Glass is Coming Next

Wired writes:

Foldable phones like Samsung’s Galaxy Fold and Huawei’s Mate X are coming, whether you’re ready or not. In fact, they’re coming whether they’re ready or not. The software remains untested or nonexistent. The prices are either astronomical or unannounced. But those potential issues can be fixed on the fly. The real thing you should hold out for? Glass.

Wired explores the technical prospects for real, foldable glass. It’s coming.

TMO Background Mode Interview with TMO Podcaster and Journalist John Braun

John Braun is a software engineer, multiple patent holder, a Mac Observer Contributor and co-host of the Mac Observer’s podcast Mac Geek Gab (MGG). That podcast launched in 2005, and John has co-hosted 750 episodes to date.

We chatted about John’s early interest in computers and science, influenced in part by his father, an engineering manager. John started off partial to chemistry, but later specialized in computers. He holds aa B.S. in Computer Engineering and an M.S. in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

John told me about early work with computer bulletin boards, his career at Pitney Bowes, how he got to know Dave Hamilton and then joined the Mac Observer, how he prepares for the weekly podcast, and all about his two current Macs and why he loves them.

Hospital Program for Pregnant Women Compatible With HealthKit

At a hospital in New Orleans a program for pregnant women called Connected Maternity Online Monitoring (MOM) was set up like a Genius Bar and is compatible with HealthKit.

Hatamian was intrigued and agreed to sign up. After her first visit with an obstetrician, she went over to the Ochsner “O Bar,” a part of the hospital modeled on the Apple Genius Bar. But instead of iPhones, the technologies on display included connected weight scales, blood pressure monitors and activity trackers. The O Bar gave Hatamian a set of devices selected for expectant mothers, including a wireless weight scale and a blood pressure cuff, as well as dipsticks and cups to measure protein levels in urine.

USB4 Will Bring Thunderbolt 3 Speeds

USB is suffering a clusterf*ck of names. Last week 3.2 was finalized, and today the media is talking about USB4. This one will bring Thunderbolt 3 speeds.

You probably won’t see USB4 hardware in the near future, however. The USB 3.2 specification was published in 2017 and is due to show up in products this year. USB4 is just a specification at the moment, and it hasn’t even been published. The publication date is scheduled for sometime in mid-2019, which means we won’t likely see USB4 hardware until 2020 or beyond.